Belt sanding machines



June 23, 1959 w. w. HULISZ ET AL 2,891,359

BELT SANDING MACHINES Filed Nov. 29, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY United States Patent BELT SANDING MACHINES William W. Hulisz and George C. Johnson, Portland, Oreg.

Application November 29, 1956, Serial No. 625,147

1 Claim. (Cl. 51143) The present invention relates to belt sanding machines and more particularly to the combination of framework and means for disposing of the sander dust generated by the sanding operation.

The primary object of the invention is to provide within the framework of the machine specially designed air ducts for removing the sanding dust from the sanding belts through the frame structure of the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide within the frame of the machine means for quick changing and aligning of the belts.

A still further object of the invention is to provide novel means for raising and lowering the work supporting tables with reference to the sanding belts.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in the light of the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention with parts broken away and in section for convenience of illustration.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, taken along the line 22 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the machine, with parts broken away and in section for convenience of illustration.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on line 55 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a sectional view, taken on line 66 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference character B indicates generally the base of our new and improved belt sanding machine. The base B is hollow, forming a manifold and is mounted upon transverse members 10 by gussets 11. This provides a solid foundation for the machine in its operation.

Extending vertically on both ends of the base B are vertical air ducts D. Referring to Figures 2 and 3, it can be seen that these ducts D consist of side Walls 12 and 13, joined together 'by an end wall 14, intermediate bulk head 15 and an end Wall 16, providing vertical air chambers 17, 18 and 19. It will be noted that the air chamber 19 is of a narrower width than the air chambers 17 and 18 to allow for clearance of mechanical parts of the machine.

Vertical posts 20 extend up between the walls 12 and 13 and partition off the air chambers 17 and 18. The posts 20 support the structure of the sanding machine, which in turn supports a pressure blade and hold down rollers, not shown in this application.

In the present machine two sanding belts 21 and 22 are utilized but this invention can be readily adapted to a machine having but one sanding belt. One end of the sanding belts 21 and 22 are trained about the driving pulleys 23, which are keyed to the driving motors 24. The driving motors 24 are mounted on frame members 25. The frame members 25 are fixedly secured at 26 to the side 12 of the vertical air ducts D, referring particularly to Figures 4 and 5.

The opposite ends of the sanding belts 21 and 22 are trained about the idler pulleys 27, referring particularly to Figures 1, 3, 4 and 5. The pulleys 27 are journalled to the upwardly extending arms 28 by transverse spindles 29. The arms 28 are pivotally mounted to a revolvable base 30 by a stub shaft 31 passing through a bearing 32, the bearing 32 forms part of the base 30.

The revolvable base 30 is rotatably mounted on a stationary base 33 in the following manner. Referring particularly to Figures 3 and 5, the base 30 has a flange 34 forming part thereof, which rests on the stationary base 33 under the retaining ring 35. The retaining ring 35 is held down against the flange 34 by the bolts 36. The revolvable base 30 has an arm 37 forming part thereof. The arm 37 extends longitudinally of the base B, having its outer end 38 fixedly secured to the side 13 of the duct D by an adjusting screw 39.

The adjusting screw 39 is rotatably mounted in fixed position with a socket 40. The screw 39 is threaded within the end 38 of the arm 33, and is locked in the desired position by a lock nut 41. By adjusting the screw 39 within the end 38 of the arm 37, the arm 37 may be slightly rotated together with the base 30 on a vertical axis. This provides alignment of the idler pulleys 27 for aligning the same with the belts 21 and 22.

In order to place the desired tension on the sanding belts 21 and 22, a lever 42 is mounted to the stationary base 33 by pivot 43 and is held in the desired position by a quadrant 44, which is fixedly secured by member 45 to the side 13 of the air duct D and by member 46 to the cover 47. A pawl 48 forms part of the lever 42 and engages the teeth of the quadrant 44, as best illustrated in Figure 1.

The lever 42 is connected to the upper end 49 of the upwardly extending arm 28 by a spring 50. The spring 50 provides a tension on the sanding belts 21 and 22, depending upon the position that the lever 42 is set.

We will now describe the structure of the work supporting table T. The table T consists of transverse rails 51, which are fixedly secured to vertical guide and supporting blocks 52, referring particularly to Figures 1, 2 and 6. The blocks 52 are guided vertically between the ducts D by vertical guide Ways 53. The guide ways 53 are fixedly secured to the ducts D and have tongues 54 for engaging grooves 55 within the guide blocks. The rails 51 are spaced apart by a transverse beam 56 and braced thereto by the bracing 57.

The guide blocks 52 are supported by vertical screws 58. The screws 58 are geared together by the worm wheel 59 and worm 59. The worms 59' are connected together by a shaft 60, which is journalled within suitable bearings 61 and 62, referring particularly to Figures 1 and 6.

The shaft 60 is rotated in either direction by a motor 63 which is coupled thereto by a gear reduction box 64 and a chain 65. The table T is mounted upon the tracks 51 by the operator of the machine. The table T is adapted to support the work being cut or polished by the sanding belts 21 and 22.

Stop or guide rollers 67 are journaled to the top of the air duct end wall 14. Stop or guide rollers 68 are also provided and are journalled to the brackets 69, which are fixedly secured to the rails 51, as best illustrated in Figures 1, 4 and 6. The guide rollers 67 and 68 arrest the movement of the work in the direction of travel of the belts 21 and 22.

We will now describe the operation of the air ducts in carrying the sanding dust away from the belts 21 and 22. Referring particularly to Figure l, a fragmentary portion of suction pipe 70 is shown connected to the end 71 of the base B.

Referring particularly to Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5, the sanding belt pulleys 23 and 27 are encased within an enclosure or chamber 72. The chamber 72 also surrounds the vertical air ducts D. The upper runs 73 of the sanding belts 21 and 22 pass through an air suction chamber 74, the air entering through the side opening 75 and the inner end opening 76. The air suction chamber 74 has a bottom or baffle 77, which turns up towards the sanding belt 21 at 78 on its inner end adjacent the driving pulley 23, and turns down at 79 into the air chambers 17 and 18, referring particularly to Figures 2 and 5.

The bottom or baflle 77 is supported on the legs 80 to the motor base and to the upper wall 12 at 81 of the air duct D, as best illustrated in Figure 4. The dust that escapes past the upturned end 78 of the bafile 77 and over the upper surface of the sanding belts 21 and 22 will be drawn down into the base B through the air chamber 19, completing the removal of the dust surrounding the driving pulley 23 and within the chamber 22.

The bottom runs 82 of the sanding belts 21 and 22 pass through an air tunnel or enclosure 83, bridging between the chambers 72. The chambers 72 prevent the dust from spreading from the surface of the belts 21 and 22 in operation, carrying the dust into the openings 76 of the air chamber or suction nozzle 74 to the air ducts D for disposal of the same. The outer sides 84 of the tunnel 83 are adapted to open on hinges 85 so that the belts 21 and 22 can be removed for replacement. The tunnel 83 is supported midway its length by a support 86.

The chamber 72 is enclosed by the cover 4-7, which is supported upon the removable sides 47', and the legs 88 of the air ducts D. The sides 47 are removable in order to gain access to the sanding belts 27 and 22 for changing the same.

We will now describe the sanding machine in regards to supporting the material to be sanded. The material to be sanded is placed on the table T and the table T is raised or lowered to the proper height by the operation of the motor 63 to raise or lower the tracks 51, which support the table T through their trunnion Wheels 66.

The operation of this new and improved means of removing the sanding dust from the sanding machine will now be described. As the sanding belts 21 and 22 are pressed down on to the sheet to be sanded, not here shown, by any suitable well known method, they carry the sander dust in the direction of movement of the belts 21 and 22, carrying the same into the chambers 72 surrounding the vertical air ducts D. As the belts 21 and 22 pass through the upper air chamber 72, the sanding dust is removed from the chamber 72 and belts 21 and 22 and drawn down through the air chambers 17 and 18 into the base manifold B and out through a suction fan (not shown). Dust accumulated in the chambers 72 surrounding the driving pulleys 23 and 27 will also be removed through the air chamber 19 into the base manifold B and carried away.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A belt sanding machine comprising a frame, a pair of spaced apart pulleys mounted in said frame, a sanding belt having its opposite ends trained over said pulleys, said sanding belt having upper and lower runs, rotary guides journalled on said frame adjacent said pulleys engaging opposite side edges of said belt, work support means carried by said frame and positioned beneath the upper run of said sanding belt, means mounting said work support for horizontal transverse movement with respect to said sanding belt, a pair of housings surrounding the terminal ends of said belt and said pulleys, a housing surrounding the lower run of said sanding belt, said pair of housings and the last named housing being in communication with each other, a manifold communicating with said pair of housings and having a suction conduit connected thereto, said pair of housings and said last named housing each having access openings to permit passage of said sanding belt for renewal and replacement of said sanding belt on said pulleys, and a hinged door for each of said openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 445,382 Sawyer Ian. 27, 1891 554,093 Smith Feb. 4, 1896 1,134,085 Kroeze Mar. 30, 1915 1,986,520 Oakley Jan. 1, 1935 2,545,329 Witham Mar. 13, 1951 2,624,158 Hendrickson Jan. 6, 1953 2,640,304 McEwan June 2, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 944,894 France Apr. 19, 1949 

